


Prisonerstuck

by BlissfulCacophony



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-01-11 22:39:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlissfulCacophony/pseuds/BlissfulCacophony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the dungeons deep below the palaces of the highbloods, a lone mutant blood tends to the prisoners, a slave with the worst job. A Karezi fanfic. Warnings for much angst. A spinoff of my other fanfic "bloodloss" though different enough that they can exist independently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting By Chance

Karkat walked slowly down the dingy hallway, pulling a cart after him, occasionally glancing at the armor clad troll following close behind him, watching his every move. Karkat stopped the cart at each barred prison cell he encountered along the way, sliding a uniform tray of water and stale bread under a slot at the bottom of each door. Some of the inhabitants would ignore him and avoid his eyes. Others would thank him, touch his bandaged hands, even exchange hushed words with him for a few brief moments.   
“What did they do to your hands?” They'd ask.  
Karkat would only sigh. “Just some hot water. I'll be okay,” he'd answer, feeling the impatient gaze of his supervisor bore into his back if he lingered too long. He'd then quickly move on before his keepers decided to find more ways to make his skin blister.  
The excuse about the hot water was an understatement, the promise of him being okay, just something he said to stave off their concern for him. The day before he had done one of those stupid things he always ended up doing just because he couldn't live with himself if he ignored someone else's pain. One of the prisoners, wrongfully imprisoned, or so she claimed, had gotten a pretty rough beat down and the guards had done nothing to treat her afterward, so naturally Karkat just had to take pity on her. He'd snuck off, stealing some pain reliving medicine and bandages and giving them to her. He'd been stealthy enough that the prisoner never got caught, but he did get caught for sneaking off, and that hadn't ended well. His supervisor had immediately reported him to the keepers who thought it would be a convenient idea to force his hands and forearms into boiling, scalding dishwater until his skin turned hot pinkish-red, a suiting punishment that could take weeks to heal and would probably leave scars.   
He couldn't say he regretted what he did, but he knew he wouldn't be trying anything too risky for awhile, part of the reason being that every time he touched something it burned, and smarted, making tricks and extra work something he couldn't afford, and the other part being that these things required tact. He knew the guards would be breathing down his neck for awhile, making sure he didn't try anything. He'd keep them pleased, pretending he was just as broken and pathetic as they expected him to be, staying on his best behavior until they felt they could become lazy and slowly, without them even noticing, the leash they kept on him would become looser and looser. If anything the guards were gullible, and had little motivation to keep them from slacking off.  
He sighed and continued on, coming across the next cell. The prisoner inside had her hands chained above her bowed head, which was covered with messy shoulder length hair and had pointy, conical horns. Those horns reminded him of someone he knew once, but he didn't really want to think about her.  
The guard unlocked and opened the cell, allowing him access. She was one of those types, the prisoners who he had to spoon feed because their restraints were only removed when a guard had to a good hold on them. He took a tray and walked into the cell. The prisoner seemed unresponsive as he knelt before her and noticed the blue-green and black of her bruises. A turquoise blood, with horns like that? It had to be a coincidence.  
“Soup's on.” He said.  
The prisoners nose twitched and she looked up. Karkat almost dropped the tray. Her face. . .her eyes. The face was unmistakeable, her eyes unlike anyone else, blind and solid red.  
“Terezi?” He said in disbelief.  
Terezi looked surprised and sniffed toward him, pulling at her chains and scrunching her nose in surprise. “That smell, it's been so long. . .” She paused, and then nearly shouted. “Karkles?!”  
“Shooooosh.” Shushed Karkat hurriedly. “Whisper. Please.”   
Terezi sighed. “I thought you were dead.” She whispered.  
“Well I'm not much better.” muttered Karkat. He looked over to his supervisor who was beginning to tap his foot. “Listen, I'd love to sit and chat, but I'm here with food so just let me feed you so I can move on.”   
Terezi looked almost offended. “Karkat! I haven't heard from you in almost a sweep and you're not going to tell me where you've been?”  
Karkat sighed. “Terezi, I'd love to, but you smell that other troll out there? Yeah. He's my supervisor. The minute he starts getting impatient, he'll report me for wasting time and keeping him waiting, and I'll spend the next week gagged so I can't spend time talking. My forearms are already blistering. I can't afford that on top of it.”   
He held his arm in front of her face, which became concerned upon taking a whiff of it.  
“Oh.” She said. “Sorry. I didn't know. I'll see you again though right. . .well you'll be here again?”  
Karkat set about tearing up the hard roll. “Yeah. I make this round twice a day. . .It's good to see see you by the way, I just wish it didn't have to be here.”   
Terezi nodded, letting him feed her, and memorizing his scent before he stood and left.   
The supervisor gave Karkat a reproachful glare and some muttered reprimanding for taking so long which Karkat didn't give very much heed to, seeing as he'd heard it a million times, and nodded in response.  
A few cells later he came across the troll he had helped the day before. She looked better, but concern crossed her face when she saw his hands and forearms. She opened her mouth to say something, but Karkat ran a finger across his throat to get to her to stop.  
“I'm sorry.” She mouthed, taking the food.  
“Don't worry about it.” He mouthed back.  
She pulled a small jar of what was left of the medicine he had stolen for her from her smock and discreetly dropped it in his apron pocket.  
Karkat nodded appreciatively and again moved on, patting his prize as he went.


	2. Paying a Visit

Karkat stayed up instead of sleeping right away. He had too much to think about, not to mention some self-treatment to do. He sat cross-legged on the floor with water, a cloth, fresh bandages, and medicine next to him, then began the slow process of peeling off his bandages, cringing every time they peeled the dry, dead skin away with them.  
Terezi. She was here. He could hardly believe it still. It was good to see her, generally healthy, alive, okay, within his reach. He had missed her, and had given in to the fact that he'd probably never see her again, until today. Still, he wasn't happy to see that she was a prisoner here. She'd be cooped up just like him, wasting away in that cage. The Highbloods could do anything to her. He never wanted to see anyone stuck with that fate, much less Terezi.   
After a lot of pausing to curse and wait for the pain to subside, he finally got all his bandages off, leaving his raw skin exposed and sensitive. He cringed and hissed as he wet the rag with his sore fingers, took some deep breath, and talked himself through wiping his arms down with the cool water, feeling the heat radiating from his skin as he went. Finally, he stuck his fingers in the jar and rubbed the medicine over his arms, sighing as it cooled and soothed everything it touched. When it came time to replace his bandages, he was relieved to find it was much easier than taking them off and that his skin already felt better.  
He cleaned up, and finally lied down on his cot, deciding what his next move would be now that Terezi had come into his life again. He knew he wouldn't be able to talk to her with his supervisor peering over his shoulder, but he did get a short break everyday to eat. As long as he informed his supervisor where he'd be, got permission, and didn't wander from that spot until his supervisor retrieved him, he could pretty much eat wherever he pleased. It certainly wasn't a good time to smuggle things to prisoners, because he was almost always being watched by someone, but he was sure they wouldn't mind him talking to a prisoner. Maybe he would even butter his supervisor up, and tell him that he was doing it so as not to mar the efficiency of his rounds. Yes. That would earn him some time with Terezi for sure, if only for a little while.   
Pleased, he pulled the meager, threadbare blanket over his head and fell asleep.

*****

Terezi sat alone in her cell, her arms aching from being chained above her head so long. Karkat said he'd be back, and she quietly wondered if he could really keep that promise, beyond their silent encounter that morning when he'd come again to feed her. Around her she could smell the must and dampness of the walls, the rusted, corroding metal of old bars and shackles, the sweat, blood, and filth of the other prisoners. It made her sad almost, to think the people she may have convicted would end up here, where the sounds of pained moans and mad screaming sometimes echoed through the halls, and the heavy footsteps of guards pounded by with questionable intent. Of course, were she in charge, only the deserving would be in this place, but the subjugglators didn't think that way and the legislacerators were a corrupt system. Things weren't as they should be.   
Then among the normal heavy sounds of the dungeons, she picked out something softer, quicker, lighter. She sniffed the air, trying to make out the source of the noise. That scent. Could it really be him or was she just smelling things?  
“Terezi? Are you awake?” Came Karkat's voice gruffly.  
Terezi lifted her head immediately. Sure enough there was Karkat, sitting outside the cell, holding a bowl of food in his lap. He still smelled as tattered and dirty as before, wearing a grey smock, loose pants, and an apron that was probably white once, but his delicious cherry scent was unmistakeable through it all.  
“Karkles? Yeah I am.” She paused for a moment. “You actually came.”   
Karkat nodded. “Well I said I would didn't I? I mean, I wanted to. I was wondering if you just wanted to talk for awhile, I mean, until I have to go.”   
“Of course I do, but are you even supposed to be here? I don't want you getting in trouble, or hurt again for that matter.”  
“It's alright. It's my meal break. I've already asked permission from my supervisor and everything, even sweet-talked him a little bit for good measure. Now, how did you even end up here?”   
Terezi put her head down again. “Well it's not the first time I've been locked up.”   
Karkat stared at her in surprise. “Not the first time?”  
Terezi chuckled a little. “Well, I'm kind of infamous, always running from the law anymore.”  
“You're kidding.”  
“I know, I know, it doesn't sound like me.”   
Karkat tilted his head. “That's for sure. But why? I mean, of all the people I know who could become outlaws, you didn't even make the list.”   
Terezi sighed. “I know, it's just this law, it's not actually justice. It's so full of corruption that right now it seems only the rebels have just ideals. My allegiance lies with them, and if that puts me in opposition to the rancid order of hemocasteing then so be it.”   
Karkat nodded, finally realizing what she was talking about. “Oh. That makes sense now. I'm glad to hear the rebels are still fighting, even without the Signless.”   
“Yes. You know we would never give up, even if it has landed many of us in situations like ours,” she sighed, “but at least I did the best I could, and I got to see you again. Where have you been anyway? No one has heard from you since the Signless was executed, except when Nepeta's moirail said he saw you in the hands of the subjugglators. We all assumed you were dead.”   
Karkat nodded sadly, remembering that day more clearly than he wished to. “I almost was killed. I ran into Gamzee while walking back to the hideout, except he was different. He told me that his ancestor had sobered him up and changed him, and told me that he was the one who–”  
“Ratted out the Signless?” Finished Terezi.  
Karkat blinked at her. “How did you know that?”  
“Gamzee hasn't exactly been secretive about it. His betrayal is common knowledge among the rebels now.”   
Karkat looked back down at his food, and poked with it absentmindedly. “I guess I really have been sheltered from the world down here then. I haven't heard a thing about the rebels since they put me down here, and all I overhear from the guards is about getting paid and hating their jobs.” He sighed and shrugged. “Anyway, back to how I ended up here in the first place. I tried to run, but Gamzee wounded me, I still have the scar on my shoulder, and took me to the Grand Highblood, who spared my life, but ordered that I be enslaved and never see the Alternian sky again. I was branded as subjugglator property, and I've been here ever since.”  
Terezi sensed his displeasure at retelling the story, and wished her hands were free so she could comfort him in some way. “I'm sorry, Karkat. I know Gamzee meant a lot to you. The two of you were so close before all this.”   
Karkat shook his head. “It's alrght. I've learned to get over it.”  
“Still, I'm glad you're alive. I wish I could let Kanaya know.”   
Karkat perked up again. “Kanaya? How is she?”   
Terezi shrugged. “I can't say for right now, but she's better than she was. Losing you, the Signless, and the Dolorosa took a toll on her.”  
Karkat looked concerned. “The Dolorosa? What happened to her?”  
Terezi paused, realizing he really wouldn't know. “Karkat, she was enslaved after the Signless's execution by Orphaner Duelscar. We have reason to believe she's long dead.”   
“No.” Croaked Karkat, shocked, his voice desperate.  
“I'm sorry, Karkles.”   
Karkat hung his head. “It's. . .It's alright. . .Kanaya must have been crushed.”  
Terezi nodded sadly. “She's really strong, you know. Through all her grief, she's still managed to be a rock for all of us. The rebels would be nowhere without her, especially since there are more who have been lost.”   
“More?”   
“Yeah. The Psiioniic was taken as the Condesce's Helmsman, and Redglare was killed by the pirate Marquise Spinneret Mindfang not long after.”  
“I'm sorry.”   
Terezi sighed. “It's okay, it's been a long time since then, and I'm not the only one who has mourned. There are more that have been captured. . .have you happened to see any of them?”  
Karkat shook his head. “No, sorry. Either they weren't here or they kept me from them.”   
Terezi nodded. “It's alright. They must really keep you on a tight leash here.”  
“That's for sure. My supervisor is always breathing down my neck, you know, supervising me. I have to ask him before I do anything, and he throws the biggest fit when I don't. It's so aggravating you don't even know. One time he–” He paused when he heard a voice calling for him.  
Terezi turned to him. “Is that your supervisor?”   
Karkat sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah.” He stood up, picking up his bowl. “I have to go before he makes a big deal out of me not being ready when he came blah blah blah.”  
Terezi giggled. “I see you haven't changed.”   
Karkat scoffed. “Why would I? I've just been underground under everyone's thumb in this filthy place for nearly a sweep. Not life changing at all.”   
Terezi smirked. “I'll see you tomorrow right?”   
“Count on it.”   
“Oh! And Karkat?”   
“Yeah?”   
“Please don't tell anyone about my smell and taste thing. They all know I'm blind, and I want them to assume from there.”  
“I wont say a word.”   
“Thanks.”   
Karkat's supervisor turned the corner and stomped up the Karkat, who bowed his head contritely, and said a few gruff words before turning around and motioning for Karkat to come.   
Karkat turned back to Terezi for a moment, nodded, and then followed his supervisor down the hall.


	3. Losing You Again

Another day passed. Karkat had come and they had spent their short time together getting to know each other again until Karkat, once again, had to leave. That day turned into a week and soon they established a steady routine. It was something Karkat had come to look forward to everyday. He had started to finish his duties faster just so he could see her for longer. The more he came, the more he wished that this would never have to end.   
Now Terezi awaited him a third time, but she knew this talk wouldn't be as cheery as their previous ones. She wished she could just keep him naïve, but this was going to be her last chance to tell him, and keeping it from him would be cruel. She didn't want to cause him any more heartbreak than she had to.  
“Sorry I'm late.” Said Karkat as he sat down in front of her cell.  
“It's okay.” Said Terezi simply, looking at the floor.  
Karkat tilted his head. “What's wrong?”  
“Karkles, there. . .There's something I haven't been telling you.”   
A pang of worry shot through Karkat's chest. He paused before speaking again. “And what's that, Terezi?”   
“I. . .I haven't been on trial yet.”   
Karkat's jaw dropped. “What?!”  
Terezi sighed. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. It's just, I wanted this to last for as long as I could. The thing is, whatever they sentence me to tomorrow, it's not going to be good. I may never see you again. . .or they'll have me killed.”   
“WHAT?!” Karkat felt his heart speed up.   
“But,” Said Terezi quickly. “I have been doing things to hopefully improve my chances.”  
“Oh really? Like what?” Asked Karkat skeptically.  
Terezi lowered her voice. “They all think I'm helplessly blind. That should keep me out of slavery, because I'd be useless for work. Also, I know my way through a standard trial. If I play my cards right, I can prove I'm too smart and worth too much to kill, hopefully. I know my walking free isn't an option, I've already confessed, but if I can just land imprisonment, my chance of eventual release is higher, not to mention you'd be here.”   
Karkat looked at the floor, finding little comfort in her plan. “Terezi. . .”   
“What?”   
“Promise me you'll do your best, please.” He gripped the bars of her cell. “Stay alive.”   
Terezi nodded, turquoise tears gathering at the corners of her eyes as she tried to pretend she wasn't scared. “I'll do everything I can, Karkles, I promise.”   
Karkat took a deep breath and let go of the bars. “Thankyou. I. . .I don't want to lose you again.”   
“I know, me neither. . .thankyou for the past couple of days by the way. It means a lot that I got to see you again, and I hope to be back in a day or two, but if not, just know. . .” She took a deep breath. “I love you, Karkat.”   
Karkat's eyes widened, and his face flushed red as his heart sped up. For a moment he stared at her, speechless, but quickly pulled himself together. This was no time to just sit there gawking like an idiot. “I. . .I love you too, Terezi.”   
Terezi smiled a bit and the two sat in silence, savoring each other's company, until Karkat said goodbye, seeing his supervisor coming, and left.

*****

Karkat woke up early, though it barely counted seeing as he'd only managed to dose that night, so he could sneak out of his quarters and run to Terezi's cell in an attempt to talk to her once last time. It didn't matter if he got punished for it. It was worth it. She'd left his heart in a state were it just wouldn't calm. She loved him. Flushed bright candy red. The thought made him so extremely happy, and embarrassed, and angry, he could hardly deal. Happy, because secretly he'd always felt the same way for her, embarrassed, because he'd spent so long denying it, and angry because that may have been the last time he'd see her and he had been such an awkward doofus about it.   
In short, he felt his feet could not move fast enough.  
He quickly turned the corner to her cell. A nervous tingling exploded in his torso as he neared it desperately. His stomach fluttered wildly, and his heart pounded painfully in his chest. For awhile he felt a nervous high, which quickly became heavy and hard when he saw that the guards had beat him to her. The cell was empty. Terezi was gone.   
Karkat dropped to his knees, red tears streaming down the side of his face as he stared into the empty cell. He sat there for awhile, before wiping the tears away, picking himself up, and forcing himself to wander back to his quarters, wondering why he should even try to avoid his supervisor. Maybe a good session of discipline, a verbal lashing, and some rough, merciless pain infliction, would clear up his head, bring him back to reality. He wanted to believe Terezi really knew what she was doing, but that was hard. Chances were so slim, and things never seemed to work for the better in this cursed place. Hope usually only crushed him in the end.  
When he made it back to his quarters, he lied down on his cot, and spent whatever time he had left to himself trying to pull himself together and convince himself that she'd be back.

*****

Karkat had begun to wonder long ago if he enjoyed causing himself pain. Maybe he just liked it more than feeling nothing and giving into the dull reality of his life. He didn't want to accept it. He didn't want to get used to it. Bending the rules and getting caught sometimes reminded him that he still had a will he could exercise, and that he wasn't helpless. Reopening his old emotional scars and dredging up the past reminded him that he was strong enough to accept it without having to forget it. Striving to rub salt in his newest emotional wound was not something he would put past himself.   
The next day he found himself coming back to Terezi's cell whenever he could, hoping to see her there again. He looked out for her on his rounds, even went as far to ask his supervisor about it. Every time he got the same answer. She wasn't there. She was never there. His supervisor only got annoyed, and said he knew nothing about it, and that it wasn't Karkat's place to be asking about things like that.   
By the time the day had come to an end, Karkat's discouragement was horribly deep. The trial was probably long over. They wouldn't spend that much time convicting a rebel who's already confessed. Terezi was probably was far from his reach, if she was even still alive. As he prepared himself for another hopelessly sleepless night, he cursed himself for ever having been hopeful in the first place.   
He laid down on his stomach on the cot, getting sick of staring at the stone wall, and gave in to the pressure in his throat and behind his eyes. He buried his face into the thin mattress, wrapped his arms around his head and let the sobbing come, hoping only that his supervisor would leave him alone for the night. The last thing he wanted was to be seen as pathetic by his superiors.   
Then there was a knock on the door.   
Karkat cursed under his breath and went about quickly wiping away the transparent tears, taking deep breaths, and trying to appear calm before getting up and answering the door. Outside stood his supervisor, who gave him his standard irritated glare before motioning to two guards behind him. One guard held a bundle in his arms, a person, wrapped up in a grey blanket that was dark and wet in places. Was that. . .blood?   
The guard shoved the bundle into Karkat's arms, and Karkat attempted not to buckle as the weight of another person was put on his burns. He looked down at the bundle, then at his supervisor in confusion. In response, his supervisor only tossed a bag into the room and shut the door in Karkat's face. He could hear as it was locked from the outside for the night.  
Karkat looked down at the bundle. Could it be? No. No way it could.   
He laid the limp fabric wrapped body quickly on the cot, then carefully removed the cloth from the face. His breath caught when he saw the conical horns and matted hair. There, in his arms, pale and unresponsive, her eyes closed, her body limp and motionless, was Terezi.


	4. Highbloods Know How To Be Cruel

The court. Terezi smelled it before they got there. The guards had retrieved her early, before she had even woken up. She'd fought them as they pulled her to her feet and chained her wrists behind her back before dragging her by her arms out of the cell. As she'd left that cell behind her, she could only think of Karkat. Would he try to come and see her one last time? How would he respond when he saw that she was gone?   
Now though, that all seemed of little significance.   
A knot sat tight and heavy in her stomach as she let herself be dragged to the stone court ahead. It was small. Few were there besides the judge and jury. She understood why. She had already confessed. This was a trial to condemn, not convict, and right now all that mattered was survival.   
She stumbled as the guards led her to the stone circle below the judge's podium, and forced her down to her knees, proceeding to stand guard on either side of her. She moved her head around, staring blankly forward, feigning confusion at the chattering voices around her. She already knew what she was going to say. She just had to keep up her act. If it all worked out, this would save her, hopefully.  
“Silence!” Boomed a voiced, and Terezi's body jerked in surprise before she quickly bowed her head. “The trial is about to begin.”   
Terezi took a deep breath. His honorable tyranny was ready to start, meaning it was time for her performance to begin as well.   
“Terezi Pyrope.” He boomed.  
Terezi lifted her head, staring up at him with sightless eyes, taking in his scent. He was an old, burly troll with minty blood similar to her own. They shared a caste, which she expected.  
“You're Tyranny, I–” she started, but the judge interrupted her.  
“Do you confess, as you did previously, to aiding and affiliating with rebels of the Empress?”  
“Yes, but–”  
“And do you agree that you, as a member of the legislative caste, have a full education of the Empress's law?”  
“Yes, I do, and I–”  
“So can you deny that you committed treason, knowing full well that you were doing so?”   
“No, I can't, but before you–”  
“Silence.” Demanded the judge, and Terezi pursed her lips, realizing her plan was dead before it had even begun. “I've had enough of these attempts of yours. Do you think that just because you nearly became a servant of the law, that you are somehow entitled to a different standard even after breaking it? You've committed treason and have confessed to it. You've given up the right to speak in your own defense. If you are to speak, it will be only when you are spoken to, and what is asked of you. No more. You of all people should know this.”   
Terezi cursed under her breath, her heart pounding. He was right. She had hoped that perhaps a member of her own caste would act more in the interest of justice, but it seemed this judge would have no such exceptions. This wasn't going to end well.  
“You're right. I apologize, your Tyranny.” She said, bowing her head again, fearing what she knew was coming.   
“Good. Now do you understand that the punishment for treason is execution?”  
“Y-yes.” Stammered Terezi, angry at herself for being such a screw-up.  
“And that there is nothing to qualify you for exception?”   
Terezi nodded, defeated. “Yes, your tyranny.”   
“Then I sentence you, Terezi Pyrope, to death by hanging.”   
The jury loudly agreed.   
Terezi swallowed hard, choking down her emotions and taking deep breaths to calm herself. “I'm sorry Karkat.” She whispered to the ground. “I failed you.”   
“HOLD UP JUST A MOTHERFUCKING SECOND.” Boomed a rough, hostile voice. “I object.”   
A chill ran up Terezi's spine. She knew that voice. She knew the grape soda stink wafting in with the heavy footsteps of the slouched troll. What was he doing here?   
“Please, subjugglator,” Said the judge with every ounce of respect he hadn't given her. “We would all like to hear your alternate proposal.”   
In other words, disregard everything, the highblood was here.   
“FIRST OFF,” boomed Gamzee, strutting around the court like he owned everyone in it, which he pretty much did, “this troll is a liar.”   
Terezi tensed up. She could sense the judges seafoam eyes drifting down and resting on her. The air stank of his newly piqued malicious interest.  
“What do you mean?” he growled.   
Terezi sensed as Gamzee drew closer to her, his smell becoming more pungent as he did so.  
He ran his his cold finger along the line of her jaw. “COOPERATE,” he whispered harshly, “or I'll give up helping you, AND ENSURE YOUR DEATH.”  
Helping her? Why in the world would Gamzee be doing something like that? He wanted something. He had to be wanting something. This couldn't be for free. Still, she decided to play along anyway. This was her life on the line after all.   
“This cunning little bitch, HAS BEEN PULLING THE WOOL OVER YOUR EYES. Hopelessly blind. WHAT AN ACT. She can get around by herself without a problem.”  
The crowd's confusion was a thick and sour scent that suddenly permeated the air.   
“THIS NOSE OF HERS CAN SENSE WHAT HER EYES CAN'T, same with her tongue, JUST LIKE HER BLIND DRAGON LUSUS. It goes without saying that this ability is incredibly unique.”   
By now everyone was staring at her. Dragon lusi, as well as their charges, were a rarity. The chances of her needing to learn such an ability from her lusus, even more so.   
“Prove this.” Demanded the judge doubtfully.  
Gamzee looked over at Terezi and she sighed reluctantly.   
“You're blood color is seafoam green.” She said. “Your eyes and the symbol on your robe, which is black and drapes around you and your chair, match that color. You also smell vaguely of it, which is common for most trolls. What does sea foam green smell like? It's a sort of minty smell, a little fresher than that of my own blood, which is a colder scent. The Jury is composed of mostly midbloods of the legislative caste and highbloods of the serving caste. I can tell because the clasps on their black ropes are the color and shape of their specific symbols. Oh, I forgot to mention, your horns are long, straight, and pointed. They smell a little uneven, rough like your skin. You're an old troll. Grey hints in your hair, though you attempt to hide it. The guards behind me are of different blood castes. The one on my left has sort of forest green eyes. Odd that he's even here. The one on my right is of the highblood service caste, with blood of a deep blue color.” She grinned a little. “To me, you all smell absolutely mouthwatering. Now if only you were to let me taste someone, then I could tell you more. Shall I go on?”  
“That's enough.” Said the judge, sounding a little uncomfortable almost.  
“THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I BELIEVE WE SHOULDN'T DISPOSE OF HER SO QUICKLY.” Said Gamzee. “Also, if you think the information you interrogated her for is correct, YOU'RE WRONG. What I've heard from it sound like classic rebel deception, AND THAT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME. She wouldn't give something like that out so easily. SHE NEEDS TO BE BROKEN FIRST, only then can we get her to tell us what we need to know. IT WORKED FOR THE MUTANT BLOOD WE CAPTURED NEARLY A SWEEP AGO. I have no doubt the same method will prove effective on her as well.”  
Terezi clenched her teeth. Obviously Gamzee's definition of “helping” was different from her own.   
“And what do you propose we do?” Asked the judge.   
Gamzee stood behind Terezi. “FOURTY-EIGHT LASHES, for her treason. THEN MAKE SOME USE OF HER. Put her to work in the dungeons. IT WILL BREAK HER FASTER THAN SIMPLE IMPRISONMENT.”  
Terezi's breath caught. Fourty-eight lashes? Fourty-eight? The amount rarely got much higher. Still, more importantly, how did he know? How did he know she wanted to be in a position where she would be with Karkat? There was no way that this was simply coincidence.   
The judge nodded and pounded his gavel on the podium. “It's been decided then. Terezi Pyrope, you have been sentenced to fourty-eight lashes for your treason, and to be enslaved in the dungeons afterward. The flogging will be carried out late tomorrow. Until then you will await your sentence in a holding cell, and will be branded as subjugglator property.”   
Terezi nodded, attempting to hide her shaking until the guards forced her to her feet and dragged her away. 

*****

The cell they took her to was very much like the one she'd been in for the past week, and yet it was more threatening. Maybe it was the fact that she was tied to a chair instead of being chained to the wall like before, or maybe it was the furnace across the way, filled with hot, shaped metal that had ended up around her wrists shortly after getting there. The guards had not hesitated to bruise her as they held her down, gag her to stifle her screaming, and tighten her restraints painfully to keep her from squirming as she felt like the irons were eating away at her skin. They hadn't let her sleep, and by the time the night was through, she wasn't sure if she was going to make it through the next day.   
Her irons had cooled a few hours ago, but they still stung as they scraped at her burnt skin. She stared blankly forward, her nose picking up only acrid smoke, hot metal, and scorched flesh. She was so exhausted, but the uncomfortable way her body was strapped into the chair kept her from sleep. She was already in enough pain as it was, she didn't need the muscle ache on top of it.   
Secretly she wondered if Karkat had been through something like this as well. Gamzee had mentioned him, “mutant blood” could refer to no one else, and that he had been broken before they'd interrogated him for useful information. She imagined what it must have been like for him to go through suffering probably very similar to her own. No wonder he seemed different. Sure, he acted like himself in some ways, but the viciously burning fire that was driving him before seemed to have long ago been extinguished, and it made her sad.   
“I can't believe they did that to her!” Came a voice from down the hall, and Terezi was jarred from her stupor. “Don't you think that she's already going to go through enough as it is?” She sighed. “Whatever. Get her ready. I'll be quick about this.”  
Terezi turned her head in the direction of the tall, curvy troll that walked in front of her cell. She had heavily worked hair, that Terezi figured must have been quite long and thick to need to be that elaborate just to tie up into a bun. Her horns were also impressive, ridged and curled on either side of her head. She wore a leather apron and smelled faintly of strawberry. Her deep red lips formed into a reassuring smile as she stood across from Terezi, her leather gloved hands on her hips.   
“Hello.” She said pleasantly. “I see you're awake. My name is Aradia Megido, and though I'm a lowblood, I'm the head blacksmith here. I'll be branding you today, but don't be worry, It wont be that bad. I'm not cruel.”   
“Do whatever you want. It can't make things much worse.” Said Terezi flatly, her voice hoarse.  
Aradia nodded, and walked into the cell. “My assisstant is going to pull your shirt down so we can place the brand correctly, then he will hold a cloth over your nose and mouth so the actual brand will catch you by surprise. We find that usually makes it a little easier. It will only last a few seconds, and then we'll be done.”   
Terezi took a deep breath, not finding much comfort in that, if any, and nodded. “Alright.”   
She flinched when she felt warm hands pull her shirt off her shoulders so that the top of her chest was exposed, and held a cloth over her nose and mouth that smelled so strongly that it overwhelmed her senses and acted as a blindfold to her taste and smell. From there she heard the sound of footsteps and clanging metal and braced herself for what she knew was coming. Her heart thumped in her chest with the wait, and she cried out through the cloth when she felt the searing of the metal brand suddenly burn into the middle of her chest. When Aradia removed the brand, Terezi's eyes were clenched shut and tears streamed down her face as she felt suddenly, horribly faint.   
“Untie her.” Commanded Aradia. “Now!” She demanded when her assistant hesitated.   
Terezi felt relieved as the straps were loosed and removed, and the shackles were removed from her wrists. She felt Aradia's warm arms and took in her strawberry scent as she lifted her out of the chair and sat her down on the floor.   
“Are you with me?” She asked.  
Terezi nodded. “Yeah.”   
“Well stay still, I'm going to tend to you. You'll need to be in a better state than this when you face your sentence this evening.”  
Terezi allowed her to bandage the new brand and her wrists, then gladly took the water and food before Aradia laid her on her side on the cell floor and shackled her wrists behind her back again.   
“It's the best I can do.” Said Aradia. “Sleep. There will be no repercussions in doing so, and you'll feel better and look more dignified when they take you to the flogging jut.”  
“Thanks.” Said Terezi. “Why are you doing all this for me?”   
Aradia leaned in and whispered in Terezi's ear. “Because I'm not like the rest of them. Don't tell anyone, but I'll always be a friend to the rebels. Karkat will also be getting a delivery of medical supplies so he can tend to you better later. Having you down there will be good for him. He really needs the company.” She stood. “Good luck, Terezi.” She said, and she and her assistant walked away. 

***** 

Terezi wasn't sure how long she had slept, but she was sure it was her burns and bruises that had woken her again. Her body still ached, her burns demanded her attention, and her dreams, which had also brought her back to consciousness, were more nightmares than anything. They were about the same things, the worry about what she was about to face, which had been clouding her mind, and that seed of confusion that had been nagging at her since her trial. Why? Why her sentence? Why had Gamzee helped her?   
After thinking about it, she understood the lashing. If she was going to escape death, she'd have to pay for it in blood and agony, but why did she share Karkat's sentence? How did Gamzee know she'd been shooting for that? What was he up to? What did he want? That treacherous highblood clown had to have something up his nasty soda-stained sleeves.   
She sighed, realizing that she was in no position to find that out for herself. In fact she may never find out. The highbloods had already demonstrated the power to render her completely helpless, and Karkat was so naïve in that hole. If she wasn't directly involved she'd probably never know.   
“Hey sis.” Come a voice.   
Terezi didn't need to move. The over-sweetened grape scent and distinct voice tipped her off right away, and she glared at the floor. “Don't you call me “sis” Makara.” She snarled back in her still hoarse voice.   
“WELL THEN. I see you still have some bite, Pyrope. YOU WONT FOR LONG, the path you asked for will break you quickly.”  
“The path I asked for? How would you know something like that?”   
“OH ISN'T THAT CUTE. The traitor still thinks she's the interrogator.”   
“Speak for yourself, clown.” Snapped Terezi. “I may have betrayed the Empress, but at least I'm loyal to the allegiance I chose. You're a bigger traitor than me, suddenly switching sides, ratting out he Signless, beating and enslaving your own moirail. Don't talk to me about treachery.”   
“OH, I'M MOTHERFUCKING WOUNDED.” He boomed sarcastically. “You might be right. NO YOU ARE RIGHT, but there's a vital difference between the two of us. I'M NOT THE ONE GETTNING THE WHIP AT DUSK.”   
He laughed and Terezi clenched her teeth.   
“What do you want from me?” She growled.   
Gamzee chuckled. “Oh, I don't want anything. AT LEAST NOT YET. I heard you talking to Karkat the past several days.”   
“What?” Said Terezi in surprise. Had they really been talking so loudly? Where had he been? Why didn't she smell him? Why was he even down there? “How?”   
“NONE OF YOUR MOTHERFUCKING BUSINESS. I heard you telling him what you were shooting for, AND THE FALSE HOPE YOU GAVE HIM.”   
“That wasn't false!”  
“Did you really think those things would save you then? IT CERTAINLY DIDN'T WORK OUT DID IT? Anyway, I decided to help you out. I GAVE YOU WHAT YOU WANTED.”   
“This is not what I wanted.”   
“How ungrateful. DON'T COMPLAIN. You want to be with him don't you?”  
Terezi sighed. “Fine. Yes, I do.”  
“THEN THINK OF IT AS A FAVOR, an apology, FOR HIM, not you.”   
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”   
“BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT. That's all the explanation I'm going to give you. HAVE FUN TONIGHT, PYROPE. I'll take the sound of your screams as payment.”   
Then he walked away. Terezi thought she could smell the sadistic grin on his face. 

*****

Terezi walked into the court again with her hands chained in front of her, a guard before and behind her, leading her to a large stone, smoothed and stained with blood. Terezi gulped as they made her kneel before it, then pushed her forward, stretching her torso over the rock, and chaining her arms far in front of her to a metal hook installed in the stone. She heard the sound of a knife being drawn and cringed as they cut the itchy burlap shirt from her body, leaving her stomach and chest bare against the cold, smooth rock, and her back fully exposed.   
Her stomach plunged and her heart tried to make a break for it through her throat. She had to concentrate to keep from shaking. She had watched a public lashing before. She never thought she'd end up as the victim.  
She flinched when she felt a cold finger touch her shoulder.   
“I'm going to put this in your mouth.” Came Gamzee's voice from behind her as a hand shoved a piece of leather between her pointed teeth. “IT WILL KEEP YOU FROM BITING OFF YOUR TONGUE. Be sure to scream you throat raw though. IT HELPS, and I want to hear it.” He chuckled, and walked away.  
Terezi glared at the stone. She wasn't planning on screaming for him.  
“BEGIN WHEN READY.” Boomed Gamzee, and Terezi's heart suddenly felt like a stampede in her chest as she braced herself.   
The whip cracked behind her, and the moment it snapped at her back, she realized she wouldn't be able to keep her word as a clear scream pealed from her lips. A resounding “one” boomed through the court as Terezi bit deep into the leather, tears streaming down the sides of her face, and she wondered how she was going to live through this.


	5. They Made You Pay Didn't They?

Chapter 5 

“Please be alive! Please be alive!” Pleaded Karkat as he tried to rouse Terezi. It wasn't working, and that fact made his heart race as fast as his mind, which was still trying to take in the fact that she was ever here. “How do you tell if someone is alive? Of pull yourself together, Karkat, you nervous fuck. You can't even fucking think straight, oh and you're scolding yourself. Way to sound sane. Just. . .just get it together and check her pulse.”  
He put a finger on her neck at the back of her jaw, just below the bone. There was a pulse, a faint one, but a pulse all the same, and she was breathing. Karkat exhaled in relief, and dropped to his knees, resting his arms and head on the edge of the cot, trying to calm himself down. She was alive, not okay, but alive. Not okay, but not dead. He could deal with that.  
He stood again and pulled a small stool, the only other piece of furniture in the cell, up to the cot. Time to see where the blood was coming from. He'd be lying if he said the thought didn't scare him.  
He took a deep breath and pulled the blanket off, flinching and hissing at what he saw. The dark bruises? Karkat barely saw them. The burns on her chest and wrists? Those suddenly seemed minor. Not even the fact that she was topless phased him in comparison to the scene on her back. It was a mess of blood and torn skin, a twisted painting of crisscrossing turquoise slashes on a pale grey canvas. Her blood was wet on the blanket and when Karkat took his hand off it, it was coated turquoise.  
Just how many lashes had she received, thought Karkat as he stared in shock, and how long ago?  
It didn't matter. It didn't fucking matter. He needed to treat her. That's all he could do. He couldn't control how much pain she'd feel when she woke, so why dwell on it? He just had to do the best he could. He was all she had right now.  
He took a few deep breaths, clearing his head, before retrieving the bag his supervisor had also thrown in, hoping it was full of medical supplies. It was heavier than Karkat expected it be, and for a moment he had his doubts, but when he opened it up, he found it full of more bandage rolls and medicine than he could have asked for. He wondered who had provided this. His supervisor was never this generous.  
He inspected the contents of the bag, and found a small piece of paper wedged in the side. He fished it out and opened it, seeing that it was a note, in handwriting he'd come to know well. 

Dear Karkat, 

I finally met that girl you were talking about, though I regret the circumstances because I had to see to her branding. Then again, I branded you, and we're friends. Anyway, by now she's probably been dumped on you in some awful shape, and they've left the treating of her lashes to you. I promised her I'd help you guys out, so these supplies are for you both. Take good care of her, oh and take care of yourself. Her company will be good for you. 

Your friend,  
Aradia Megido.

Aradia. He should have guessed. She was always coming through for him. He wasn't exactly sure why, something to do with him being the Signless's descendant, and being her friend, but he knew he owed her. Someday, he hoped to come through for her in return.  
For now, he didn't have a lot of time.  
In the corner of his quarters was a metal pitcher of water and a little bowl he used for treating wounds and washing his face if he had the time. He filled it up, and brought it over to Terezi, dipping a rag in it, wringing it out, and going at her back, cleaning her up.  
“They made you pay for your life didn't they?” He asked, soiling rag after rag with turquoise blood. “You're bleeding a lot. That's going to take a long time to clot, and even longer to heal.” She remained silent, and he knew she couldn't hear him talk to her as he started on the bandages. “But they didn't execute you. I'll want to hear all about what happened when you wake up.” He sighed as he finished up the bandaging, which wrapped around most of her torso, and over one shoulder in order to cover it all. “I'm really impressed, you know.” He said, starting on her burns. “I was so worried. I gave up, and yet here you are.” He found his burned fingers combing gently through her hair. “I guess I'm more broken than I thought.”  
He finished up, which was a push toward the end because he was exhausted, adjusted Terezi so she was laying on her stomach with her arms folded over her head, pulled the blanket over her to keep her warm, then took his own blanket, looking with distaste at the bare stone floor. He laid on it anyway, curling up on his side and eventually falling asleep. 

o0o0o0o0

Karkat woke up to something prodding his back. He groaned, feeling exhausted, and didn't move. His response was met with a kick in the same place.  
“I know you're awake. Don't ignore me.” Came the voice of his supervisor. “And don't keep pretending unless you want a red mark on your face. I know your tricks.”  
Karkat sighed and sat up, feeling stiff. “Yeah because you know me so fucking well.” He muttered sarcastically.  
“I'd hope so. I've been baby sitting your pathetic ass for over a sweep. Surprised you haven't killed over yet, shrimp.”  
“I'm tougher than I look.” Said Karkat flatly.  
“Yeah, yeah. You're just lucky I haven't been trying to work you to death.” He walked up to Terezi, and Karkat bared his teeth when he saw him touch her back. “Hey, cool it. I'm not going to do anything.” He smirked. “Well, she made it through the night. Didn't think you had it in you, fuckface. I'm actually a little impressed this time.”  
“Shut up.” Muttered Karkat.  
“Hey, who are you to tell me to shut up? With all the shit you've been pulling lately, you should be kissing the ground I walk on, hoping I don't beat you senseless.” He took a fist full of Karkat's hair, and used it to pull his head back, forcing him to look up at him. “Do we need to go through those behavioral expectations again? Trust me, it gets less fun every time.”  
Karkat hung his head once his hair was released. “No, sir,” he muttered.  
“You better mean it.” Said his supervisor sternly. “Now what are you doing still on the floor? Get up and let's go.”  
“But, Terezi–” Started Karat, looking over at her.  
“You'll get the chance to treat her later. Come on.”  
Karkat sighed and stood, following after him.  
They walked down the hall in silence, the air tense as ever. Karkat knew he had to do the one thing he hated doing most. That was making requests of his supervisor. It was just such a pain. His supervisor didn't give things for free, and he'd never hear the end of it once he did.  
He cleared his throat. “Uhh. . .I have a request.”  
“Spit it out.” Said his supervisor, not looking back at him.  
“Well, actually, a couple of requests. I need a mat, to sleep on, and bandages, that I can get washed, oh, and clearance to get extra rations for Terezi.”  
“Fine.” Said his supervisor simply.  
Karkat was surprised. “Really?”  
“I'm required to provide those things for you and your cellmate by the higher-ups, but you better be on your best behavior, or I'll start denying things, got it? And if you even think of pulling any tricks, or directly disobeying me in any way, you wont even remember your own name when I'm through with you. Is that clear?”  
“It is, sir.” Said Karkat. “Thank you.” He added for good measure.  
“Just start on your rounds, and don't keep me waiting today.”  
Karkat nodded, took the cart, and did as he was told. 

o0o0o0o0

Karkat finished his rounds in an unusually timely manner, wanting to get back to Terezi as soon as he could. When he made it to their quarters, he found that she hadn't moved. Her eyes were closed still, but her features looked more relaxed. That was a good sign. Still, her bandages were already soiled and her skin still looked nearly white. It was time to get to work.  
The request for more bandages had been a smart one. The first change, and already he had used a large amount of his supply, not to mention he needed to save some for his own sore forearms. He carefully removed the bandages, seeing with dismay that her wounds were still bleeding heavily. Gingerly, he went up her back, sopping up the blood, and rubbing medicine into each cut before wrapping the new bandages firmly around her torso. He tended to her burns before moving on to his own wounds, which still bothered him even though it had been over a week since he'd first gotten them.  
The next few days went by without much change. Terezi remained unresponsive, totally unconscious and limp, not seeming to improve very much, if at all. He never expected her to come to right away, but the longer she stayed that way, the more worried he got. She was weak, and there was a pessimistic part of him that wondered if she'd ever wake up, and how long she'd last if she didn't.  
Despite his worries, Karkat worked a hard schedule. His supervisor expected no less of him than ever. In fact, he expected him to be even more efficient to make up for the time he lost taking care of Terezi, and kept him on an even tighter leash to make sure he behaved himself. Really, Karkat felt it unnecessary. Terezi's care was time consuming and sometimes difficult, especially when it came to trying to feed her. He didn't have the time nor energy to pull any other shenanigans. Then again, he was pretty sure his supervisor was just bitter about having to go searching for that mat, no matter how eternally grateful Karkat continually assured him he was for it.  
Through all the chaos, Karkat couldn't bring himself to think of Terezi as a burden to him, not after what she'd told him the last time he'd seen her awake. He thought about that a lot still, but it only made the moment when she'd finally wake up all the more painful to wait for.

o0o0o0o0

Terezi woke up to pain everywhere. Her back felt like it was on fire, but it was over. It really was over. The noise of the crowd was gone, and there was no one else around as far as she could tell. Everything smelled musty, like the dungeons always did, and she was laying on her stomach, covered by a blanket, her wounds dressed.  
She sighed in relief. Even though her body ached and smarted, she knew she had made it, and that the worst had passed. She wondered where she was, and who had tended to her. How long had it been? What about Karkat? Karkat. She hoped he was alright.  
She closed her eyes, realizing she'd have to wait for answers, and relaxed. She was just falling slowly back to sleep when she heard the door open and someone walked in.  
“I brought food.” Came Karkat's voice, and Terezi sniffed the air for his cherry scent. “I don't ever know why I try talking to you, when I know you can't hear me.”  
“Karkles?” Croaked Terezi. Her voice had only gotten worse, and she could hardly manage above a hoarse whisper.  
Karkat paused, setting the food down, and quickly kneeling next to her. “Terezi?” He asked gently.  
She opened her eyes again, and turned her head to face him ever though it made little difference for her. “You're here.” She whispered.  
“You're here.” Retorted Karkat.  
Terezi nodded, her mind returning to Gamzee.  
“I'm sorry.” He said.  
“For what?”  
“Doubting you. I didn't think you'd be back, but here you are. I should have known you could do it.”  
Terezi sighed. “But. . .I didn't. . .you were right to doubt me.”  
Karkat blinked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”  
Terezi closed her eyes again. “I don't really feel like talking about it right now.”  
“That's okay. You don't have to. How do you feel?”  
She felt his fingers tentatively begin stroking her hair. “Awful. Everything hurts, especially my back, and I'm so tired.”  
He frowned. “I wish there was more I could do.”  
“It's okay. You're here with me. That's more than I could ask for. Can you stay?”  
“Not for too much longer.” He looked down at their food. “Are you hungry?”  
“Starved.”  
“Alright. . .here.” He stood to retrieve Terezi's bowl of food, before setting it on the cot next to her, and working his way onto it himself, gently pulling Terezi into his lap.  
“What are you doing?” Asked Terezi.  
“Making sure you don't choke on your food. Here, I'm going to turn you over.” He gently rolled her onto her back, holding her up by supporting her shoulders so her back wouldn't touch anything. He cringed when she hissed in pain. “I'm so sorry.”  
“No, it's okay. I'm okay.” She insisted, leaning into his chest, sitting in his lap, her legs resting over his. She let him spoon feed her as much watered down soup as she could manage before telling him he could have the rest. He reluctantly agreed and got her back in the position she was in before.  
“Do you have to go?” She asked.  
“I still have time.” Said Karkat.  
“Will you stroke my hair again. . .and just stay with me until I fall asleep? You smell nice. . .and you're so warm. It helps.”  
Karkat found himself blushing a bit, and started stroking her hair again. “Yeah. Anything you need.”  
She smiled a little. “Thanks Karkles.”  
They sat in silence for awhile, until Karkat confirmed that she had fallen asleep. He pulled a blanket over her shoulders and wolfed down his food before his supervisor came, all the while glancing over watchfully at Terezi, as if she might disappear into thin air and be gone from him again if he looked away for too long.


	6. Don't Worry, I'm Fine

Chapter 6

Karkat sat against the wall, cherry blood flowing down in a straight, solid line from his nose, over his lips, and down his chin. His face pulsed with pain, his stomach ached, and he could only brace himself when the next attack came. He closed his eyes, and didn't fight as the guard pulled him up again by the shirt, pinned him to the wall by the neck, punched him in the stomach, threw him to the floor, and kicked him down onto his elbows and knees. 

He was left gasping and coughing, trying to regain his breath as he opened his eyes to blurred vision, and his head began to pulse. He started into a fit of coughing, and blood spat from his mouth onto the dark stone floor, leaving a metallic taste in his mouth. The pain spiked again, and he clenched his pointed teeth, holding back any vocal indication that this hurt him. The guard pushed him down to the floor, and rested the toe of his boot on the back of Karkat's head.

“You ready to apologize yet, kid?” He asked in a gruff, stern voice. 

Karkat wanted to answer, but the words didn't come through his labored breath. 

The guard nudged his head sharply with his foot. “You want more, rebel trash?” 

“N-no sir.” Stammered out Karkat, his voice rasping more than usual. “No sir, I'm sorry sir, it wont happen again.” 

The guard took his foot off Karkat. “Fine. I better not hear that kind of disrespect out of you again.” He spat in Karkat's direction. “What an obscene color. Mutant filth like you should be culled before you pupate.” 

Karkat sighed, listening to him walk away, before slowing sitting up. He hadn't actually been disrespecting the guard, he was really just caught by surprise and accidentally said something along the lines of “why don't you leave me alone, you miserable, bulging fuckwad” aloud rather than just thinking it as was his rule anymore. The guard hadn't been happy about it, and he was forced to beg and plead and apologize on his knees exactly in the way he hated and did everything he could to resist and avoid. Still, he was used to this, a little too used to it for his liking. The guards and keepers were responsible for maintaining order, which mainly meant keeping prisoners subdued, delivering punishment when necessary, and of course making sure no one left if they weren't authorized to do so, establishing a clear separation between who was in control and who was not. They tended to abuse that power often, because it brought them some sort of sick joy, and Karkat just happened to be one of their favorite targets.

He knew it had everything to do with his blood. His whole life that had been a factor, and he knew his blood was going to be a problem before he even found out he'd be stuck in his hell-hole. It meant he was a mutant, something that shouldn't even be kept alive lest he poison the DNA of every troll ever to be hatched on Alternia with the radical, flat-out unnatural hue. It also meant he was a rebel, sharing the blood of the Signless. The fact that he was almost his spitting image didn't help, and he was sure he wouldn't find any of his ancestor's supporters among his oppressors. Sometimes he wondered if they beat him just because they were never able to get a crack at the Signless himself. Good for them. His ancestor may have been a pacifist for the most part, but he knew how to defend himself better than anyone else Karkat knew.

He sighed, quietly chastising himself for bringing up the Signless, knowing it would only remind him of that awful day, and how much he missed him. He stared at his bandaged hands, and thought of that strategy he meant to employ that was supposed to work so well. He was supposed to be being well-behaved for awhile, going unnoticed, getting their eyes off him. That obviously hadn't worked. Now they were bullying him more than ever, and it was all because his supervisor had been talking about Terezi pretty freely. Two rebels, sharing the same fate, together. What mysterious, heinous, infractions had Karkat pulled to achieve such a result, or was it the result of the cunning of his cellmate, who apparently had a record of breaking herself out of imperial custody, and was not to be left loose or alone? 

Karkat was pretty sure it was neither. Terezi was clear when telling him that whatever happened had been a complete mess, riddled with self-sabotage and desperate, hasty planning. Yet she was alive, and she had let on that she'd had some sort of unexpected outside help, but she kept saying she just didn't feel like telling him the whole story yet. Despite his curiosity, he couldn't say he blamed her, and he hadn't been being exactly honest with her himself. He'd been beat up several times since she'd come into his care, and the extra work had been weighing down on him, and stressing him out more than ever. He hadn't told her about any of it, and continually insisted he was fine when she noticed a bruise or cut on him. He didn't want her to worry about him, not with the kind of pain she was in. 

He pulled his knees to his chest, resting his head on them. He hoped some of his pain would subside before he had to move on. His head pounded, and the longer he sat there, the less moving on seemed like something he'd actually end up doing. Maybe his supervisor would find him. Maybe his bloody nose and bruised face would be enough to convince him he had a legitimate reason to just sit there trying to regain his composure. 

“Karkat?” 

Karkat lifted his head at the sound of the familiar, hesitant voice, seeing the wide horns and soot-streaked face of Tavros, Aradia's crippled assisstant, who looked down at him with concerned round eyes, his hair hanging down his forehead in coarse black tendrils from his loose, sloppy mohawk. He wore clothing similar to Aradia's, with a dark grey rumpled shirt and pants under a leather apron, gloves, and boots. The signs of his leg braces shown through his pants at his knees and hips, and he walked with an awkward, limping gait. It was probably only Aradia and the decent job he did that stood between him and the blade of a culling knife. 

“Hey, Tavros.” Said Karkat, his voice rasping pathetically. 

Tavros's concern deepened, and he knelt slowly, with the creaking of metal, so he could hand Karkat a cloth from his pocket, wincing a little upon seeing Karkat's bruises. “Uhh, what happened to you?” 

“I slipped up. Told a guard off. He punished me for it.” Karkat shrugged, as if it were no big deal and used the cloth to wipe the blood off his face, rubbing at the faded red streak left over until Tavros assured him it was mostly gone. 

“That, uhh, happens to you a lot doesn't it?” 

“I'm not very lucky.” 

“I, uhh, know the feeling.” He took the cloth from Karkat. “Well, uhh, Aradia, she, uhh, sent me down here to check on you, and uhh, Terezi. . .because we, uhh, heard she wasn't doing so well after the lashing. . .she uhh, wasn't even doing well when I helped Aradia brand her.”

Karkat nodded. “Tell Aradia that Terezi is getting a little stronger every day. It took her a few days to regain consciousness, and she's really weak now, but she's healing, and that's what matters. . .as for me, well I'm no worse off than I usually am. My supervisor has been working the shit out of me, and the guards have been using me as a punching bag. Business as usual.” 

Tavros nodded. “Right. I'll, uhh, make sure to tell her that. Maybe she could, uhh, do something to help you out with those guards. I, uhh, know she will want to.”

“Of course she would. Thanks.” 

“Oh, uhh, no problem.” He slowly stood up again. “Do you, uhh, want some help getting up?” He held out his hand. 

Karkat nodded, and grabbed it, letting Tavros help him to his feet. Once he was up, he clenched his teeth, groaning a little as his injuries pulsed in complaint. 

“I'm okay.” He said, in reassuring response to Tavros's concerned face. 

“If you, uhh, say so.” Said Tavros. “Will you, uhh, be okay from here?” 

Karkat nodded. “I think I will. Thanks again.” 

Tavros nodded, and walked down the a corridor, while Karkat took the opposite one to where he should have been, and where his supervisor would probably be looking for him. When he got back, he found his supervisor there, looking pretty annoyed. Karkat had to tell him the story, taking his shirt off when his supervisor asked for more proof. His torso was well bandaged as if was, and his face had begun turn a translucent grey-ish white the longer he stood there talking, his cheeks and nose flushing a hot pinkish color as it did so. It was that, and the fact that Karkat was a little unsteady on his feet, that convinced his supervisor to relieve him of duty for the rest of the day, and take him back to his and Terezi's quarters, where he said he'd lock him in till it was time for him to fetch dinner for the two, and then till the next day after that. Karkat didn't complain. He was just grateful for the rest, and spent his trip back to their quarters wondering how he'd explain this one to Terezi, if he planned to say anything at all.

o0o0o0o0 

Terezi came slowly from the muffled heaviness of her shallow dozing sleep, to the musty scent and white noise of awareness. Either way her world was engulfed in empty darkness, but she was used to that. She didn't get time to brace herself for the sharpening of the pain in her back, and dug her long, amber fingernails into the threadbare cot as it returned with full force. That pain was the reason she couldn't seem to get any real deep sleep, but it was also the reason she never stayed awake for long. As a result, she was almost constantly in a superficial state of light dreaming, drifting in and out of consciousness, or being jolted awake every time clanging or creaking metal sounded outside, with or without the shouting and screams of prisoners, always leaving her uneasy. 

She settled into that resigned state where she again became used enough to the pain to deal with it, and relaxed. Her hand lost it's tension, and she sighed, sinking into the silence, wondering how long she'd have to lay there in boredom before Karkat returned. Not that she'd get much of a break when he did. He didn't stay long, unless it was the end of the day, but at that point he was usually exhausted and didn't feel like talking. She could expect him to not even try to wake her up, his warm hands on her cool skin as he changed her bandages would always do that job anyway, then they'd exchange a few words, he might feed her if he had the means to do so, then he'd stay close to her until he had to leave again. She could almost taste his tension, like a spring wound up too tightly with no way to release. It made her wonder how much trouble he got himself on average when he finally needed to explode, or if he'd found other ways of doing that during the course of the sweep he'd been there. 

Outside, she heard the faint muttering of voices before the door was opened loudly, and Karkat was pushed in, the door slamming behind him, locked loudly in place after him. 

“Is it that time already?” She asked. She hadn't expected him so soon. Had she really slept that long?

“No.” Answered Karkat simply, collapsing on his mat, his voice sounding weak and strained. 

“Are you okay?” She could smell the pale shade of his skin, the dark cherry bruises. He was hurt. Who had done that to him? Who did she have to beat the living shit out of once she was healed?

“Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about.” Insisted Karkat. 

He always said that. 

“You're hurt, and back early.” 

Karkat shrugged, opening up their medical supply bag. “One of the guards just roughed me up a bit. . .don't worry about it. . .I'm used to it.” 

“. . .Karkles.” 

“Terezi, you're more hurt than me. . .Just worry about yourself for now okay?”

Terezi sighed. She hated that he was right. “Okay, but you need to promise me you'll take care of yourself too.” 

Karkat found a jar full of medicine, and took his shirt off so he could rub it on his bruises. “Oh trust me, I've been trying.” 

“Right.” She muttered in response. She couldn't promise she wouldn't worry, but she didn't say any more about it. If anything he was here, and would be sticking around for awhile. Maybe this would be a good   
time to tell him. She may not get another chance for awhile. “Hey, Karkat?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I've been meaning to tell you. . .about what happened to me. You may not like it though.” 

Karkat paused. “Terezi, after all I've seen, there's not much that can phase me. You can tell me anything.” 

Terezi nodded and took a deep breath, bringing that painful day back to the surface of her memory. “Well, at the trial, I thought I might have the chance to defend myself, but since I had already confessed,   
seeing as it would be difficult to deny who I am, the judge silenced me and told me that it was a trial to condemn only. Then he sentenced me to death, and I thought I'd failed you and myself, but before they ended the trial, Gamzee showed up.” 

“Gamzee?!” Exclaimed Karkat, his heart speeding up a bit at the mention. 

Terezi rested her chin on her arms. “That was my response. He told them all about me, and how I see things, convinced them I was worth keeping alive and changed my sentence to fourty-eight lashes and   
working down here in the dungeons as a slave with you.” 

Karkat's breath caught. “Fourty-eight?” 

“I can still feel every last one of them.” 

“But why did Gamzee sentence you to be down here with me? How did he know?” 

“I'm not sure. They took me back to the dungeons, where they strapped me to a chair and chained my hands behind my back with heated irons. I was exhausted by the time Aradia branded me, then helped   
me. She gave me some food and water, and put me in a position where I could get some sleep before facing the flogging jut. Gamzee woke me up later, and we talked, but when I asked him why he'd helped me, he just said to think of it as 'a favor, an apology' for you, Karkat.” 

Karkat felt himself tensing. “For me?” The very thought of this all being a convoluted way to make things up to him made his face flush red with anger, and he found himself baring his teeth. “What the fuck makes that nooksucking lunatic think he can make it all up to me simply by doing this? I mean, if he wanted me to forgive him he didn't even fucking do it right. He hurt you. That's just another thing I have to hold against him.” 

“He did save my life, and we're together now.” Pointed out Terezi calmly.

“But I mean. . .you've been. . .and I. . .” he took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “I know. It's just, there was nothing sincere about it. He has other motives. They all always have other motives. It's what they fucking do here.” 

“I know. There's not much we can do about it though.” 

Karkat sighed. “I know. . .I'm just glad you're going to be okay, and that you're here with me. I don't care what that clown does. We have each other, and as long as we do, things like that don't matter to me.” 

They didn't say much after that, and Karkat was left tending to his wounds silently, as Terezi drifted back into the void of sleep, filled with worried dreams and restless thoughts, theorizing unconsciously the uncertain fates of them both.


End file.
